cocktail dress
11
3.3
- noun
- /ˈkɒk.teɪl drɛs/
:
vestido de cóctel
- She wore a stunning cocktail dress to the formal dinner party last night.
- a black cocktail dress
- a silk cocktail dress
- a satin cocktail dress
Maybe you move into a category where it's party dresses that are like cocktail dresses for more kind of more grown up occasions.
- Maybe you move into a category where it's party dresses that are like cocktail dresses for more kind of more grown up occasions.
Examples
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"Well, what do you think?" Mrs. Goodman says at once, holding up a black beaded cocktail dress with a deep-cut bodice and flaring skirt.
Fiction book (1994) -
Well, you'll need a cocktail dress then.
-
I must have spent the last 30 years looking for the perfect little black... cocktail dress.
-
So I wanted like a little black sexy cocktail dress that I can wear.
-
I'm wearing a cocktail dress.
-
She's wearing a spectacular black cocktail dress.
Fiction book (1994) -
The woman on his arm was wearing a cocktail dress slit up one thigh.
Fiction book (1995) -
I'm wearing a black cocktail dress with a peacock brooch of Austrian crystals.
Fiction book (2000) -
The recessed door beside the fireplace opened, and a woman in a black cocktail dress came into the lounge and stood searching the tables for someone.
Fiction book (2001) -
Actress Keira Knightley looks adorable in her retro-inspired cocktail dress and cropped boots.
Blog text (5)
Synonyms
7
3.4
A formal dress worn by women for evening events
5
6.1
A close-fitting dress for women with a straight, narrow shape for formal events
A formal long gown worn to evening events like dinners
A formal dress worn to evening events, especially dinners
How Formal
Surface Forms
Morphology
cocktail + dress
The meaning 'a dress for semi-formal evening occasions' is directly inferable from combining 'cocktail' (as in a cocktail party/social evening event) with 'dress' (a garment). This is a straightforward compositional pattern (a dress for X occasions) that exists cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will very likely understand it.
Etymology
Cocktail dress comes from small evening parties where people drank cocktails, and women wore smart, shorter dresses for those events. That's why today cocktail dress means a stylish dress for 'evening' or 'semi-formal' occasions.